1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for performing search queries, and in particular to a system and method for refining search results.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the benefits afforded by the Internet is the ability to use search engines to locate web pages and other information of interest by use of a search query having one or more keywords entered into a web browser implemented on a client computer. These keywords are sent to a server implementing a search engine which performs the search, and a set of search results is transmitted to the client computer for display to the user. These results are often presented as a plurality of links, each to a web page responsive to the search query and each associated with a uniform resource locator or URL. The user may then select a link to view a web page responsive to the search query.
Unfortunately, when the user enters one or more keywords defining the search query, the search result occasioned by the inclusion of that keyword is often related to different context or concept than was intended by the user. For example, if the user wants to find documents useful in preparing a will, they may enter the keyword “will” as a search query keyword, and execute the search. The search results from this keyword search may present a set of results that includes links to information related to “William Shakespeare,” the name of a historical figure. The user may manually scan through the set of search results (including results unrelated to the desired object) to find what they are looking for.
Some query languages permit the user to exclude search results by the use of negative keywords (indicating the user is not interested in searches returning those keywords). For example, the user may perform the keyword query “will—‘William Shakespeare’” to indicate that any results including the phrase “William Shakespeare” are to be excluded from the result set. However, that may not exclude results that would include “Sir Shakespeare.” As a second example, consider an individual looking for rough diamond jewelry on a commercial website such as AMAZON. The user may receive search results that include jewelry and books about diamonds in the rough. While the user may reformulate the search query and use a negative sign (−) to unwanted keywords from the search result set (e.g. by using the search “rough diamonds−‘diamonds in the rough’”) that search result will only exclude those results having the phrase “diamonds in the rough,” not any result related to “diamonds in the rough.” Of course, the user may formulate a more complex phrase to exclude search results related to the unwanted document (e.g. “rough diamonds−(diamonds w/3 rough)”), but this requires that the user understand this query language, and formulate a search in the proper syntax that excludes the unwanted results.
What is needed is a simple, direct, and convenient way to exclude all results related to unwanted search results such as those related to “William Shakespeare,” and “diamonds in the rough” in the foregoing examples. The present invention satisfies that need.